Violin Magic
by Francine-Anne
Summary: ON HIATUS Kaho's heart is broken. Kaho's heart is mended. Her heart is on the verge of being shattered. Will Len leave Kaho alone when he goes to Vienna? What will happen? Only time will tell. Who knows?
1. Chapter 1

*Sigh*

Kanazawa-sensei leaned back on the bench, let his head roll back, spread his arms out on the top of the bench, and stared at the clouds.

'When's that cold student of mine going to get here?' he wondered, 'I need him to hurry up!'

Just then someone is heard walking onto the cement beside Kanazawa.

"You needed something, Sensei?"

Kanazawa's head snapped up, as he looked at Len Tsukimori in shock. (Let's just say that Kanazawa isn't the most perceptive of teachers..)

"Sensei?" asked Len, starting to get annoyed and impatient.

Kanazawa nodded, "Hai, hai Tsukimori-san."

Kanazawa fished around in his pockets for a bit, then pulled out two crumpled pieces of paper.

"Here, this has the address, and this is the receipt for an order I placed a while back. Please pick it up... I would do it myself, but these cats need to be fed, and if the order isn't picked up today, they'll just throw it away...

Len sighed...

"Why didn't you pick it up before today?" he asked, clearly annoyed with his scatter-brained teacher, clenching the handle of his violin case ever so slightly.

Kanazawa laughed sheepishly as he ran a hand through his lavender locks...

"Gomen, Tsukimori-san... It skipped my mind..."

Len tried hard not to scoff at his teacher's stupidity and said, "Fine. I'll go. School just ended anyway. But I'm skipping practice for this. Keep the practice rooms open for me an extra two hours on Monday."

Kanazawa nodded, "Hai, hai, just go already. I need that order."

Len nodded sharply and turned on his heel, walked out of the school garden, and went on his way.

Kanazawa sighed as he watched Len disappear, and murmured, "That boy REALLY needs to find someone to make him less stiff. Right now, his emotions are about as pliable as granite."

Little did Kanazawa know that he had an audience. Floating around four feet above his head, Lili nodded his his tiny head in agreement.

Meanwhile Len was just boarding a train, heading straight downtown where the shop was...

'I know this address,' Len thought, 'It's a printing place... I wonder what Sensei ordered that was so important...'

The train slowed to a stop, and Len stepped off, looking for the store, holding his violin case on one hand, and the receipt in the other...

Len hadn't gone ten steps from the train when someone bumped into him.

On the ground, was a half awake Keiichi Shimizu, with a Barnes & Noble bag in one hand, and a score of sheet music in the other...

Keiichi looked up tiredly, and recognized Len.

"Gomen, Tsukimori-sempai," he drawled sleepily.

Len nodded stiffly.

Keiichi stood up, dusted himself off, and walked away.

Len looked after Keiichi and thought, 'What an odd person.'

He then continued on his way to the printing place himself.

Keiichi was around five paces ahead of Len when he stopped, turned to face Len, and said, "Tsukimori-sempai, why are you following me?"

Len looked blankly at Keiichi.

"I did not intend to follow you, nor am I following you. We just happen to be walking in the same direction," Len said coldly.

Keiichi nodded slowly.

"So Sensei tricked you into coming here and running his errand?" inquired the sleepy-eyed first year.

Len scowled.

"I don't see how that's any of your business," Len said coldly, unwilling to talk any further about his situation.

Keiichi smiled tiredly.

"I see," he drawled, "Sensei tried to get me to run his errand as well, but I pretended to fall asleep, so he gave up..."

Len looked at Keiichi in shock.

'Who knew Shimizu-kun could be so sly,' he thought in surprise.

Keiichi slowly turned around and started walking again..

After he noticed that he couldn't hear Len's footsteps following him, Keiichi turned around and inquired, "Tsukimori-sempai, are you coming?"

Len nodded stiffly and swiftly caught up with his kouhai.

~A few blocks away~

"NOOOOOOO!"

Kaho panted heavily as she sprinted to the printing store...

'I can't believe I forgot to pick up the stuff I asked them to copy!' she thought hurriedly, maneuvering through the thick crowds, 'I have to hurry before the time limit is up and they throw my stuff away!'

~Back to Len and Keiichi~

Len pushed the door open, and walked in after holding it open for Keiichi.

Len walked up to the counter, and slid the receipt to the employee.

He had the most extraordinary blue, but somewhat sad, eyes, and black hair, and his nametag read "Niriya".

Niriya looked at Len and muttered, "Picking up an order? I'll get it right away."

Len watched as Niriya took the receipt and disappeared into the back room.

Five seconds later, a clumsy redhead ran through the doors of the printing store, panting.

"Made it!" she exclaimed, holding the receipt up in victory, "I finally made it!"

Just at that moment, Niriya came out of the back room holding Len's order.

"Here you go," Niriya murmured, "Your order of seventy-five copies of Seiso Academy's Spring Concert Posters."

Len stared at the stack of papers in front of him, sighed, and was about to say something, when a squeal was heard in the back of the shop.

Niriya's head whipped up, just as Kahoko squealed, "Niriya-kun!"

A smile spread immediately over Niriya's sad features when he saw Kaho.

"Kahoko-chan!" he exclaimed, jumping over the checking counter to greet her.

Niriya embraced her, grasping her in a big bear hug.

Kaho looked up in shock after she wrapped her arms around him.

"Niriya-kun, you got taller!" she exclaimed, a grin stretching from ear to ear.

Niriya nodded, "I did indeed! And now you don't even come up to my chin! Honestly, Kaho, you are a great head rest..."

Kaho gaped at Niriya.

"Hidoi! How horrible!" Kaho exclaimed, grinning, "Don't make fun of me being vertically challenged! You know I can't help it!"

" 'Vertically challenged'? That's a new one," Niriya chuckled.

Kaho beamed at Niriya.

Niriya looked up, chuckled, poked Kaho's cheek, and said, "Ne, Kahoko-chan, do you know that guy? He's been glaring at us for a while..."

"Eeeeeeh? Nani?" Kaho inquired, a bit of a lost look on her face, then turned around, and looked at the guy in question.

"Tsukimori-kun? When'd you get here?" Kaho asked, completely oblivious to the death glare Len was giving Niriya.

Len looked coldly at Kaho.

"I don't see how that's any of your business, Hino-san," Len brushed her off completely.

He nodded to Niriya, "Thank-you for the posters."

Len then turned on his heel, and walked out the door, only pausing to nod a quick thanks to Keiichi, who opened the door for him.

"Ja-ne, Kaho-sempai," Keiichi drawled sleepily, as he walked out the door.

"Eh?" Kaho looked back and forth from Len's and Keiichi's backs to Niriya's amused countenance.

'What just happened,' Kaho thought.

"OH!" she exclaimed, pulling out the receipt from her jacket pocket.

She was wearing a white jacket with magenta sleeves and hemming, bellbottoms, a pair of sandal wedges, and a simple black headband.

"Niriya-kun, I'm here to pick up copies of sheet music from a couple books, and a couple copies quotes from another book... Are they still in stock? Or have they been-" Kaho was interrupted by Niriya placing his index finger on her lips, silencing her.

"Shush already," he chuckled, "I'll go get them right now. Don't go anywhere, 'kay?"

Kaho nodded, a blush tinting her pale cheeks.

A few moments later, Niriya came out of the back room, holding a small stack of papers.

"Here ya go, Kahoko-chan," Niriya handed the papers to Kaho with a grin.

"Arigato, Niriya-kun!" Kaho blushed at Niriya, just about to say something more, when a cough was heard from right behind her.

A rather old and gruff looking man was standing right behind her, hunched over from the wear and tear of time, but still as proud looking as possible, wearing slacks, and a dress shirt rolled up to the middle of his forearms.

"There are other customers here, you know," he said gruffly.

"Eeeeeh? Gomenasai! I'll be going now!" Kaho exclaimed, looking at the old man in shock.

Kaho grinned and turned to Niriya, "See you soon!"

She walked out the door, flushed and rather embarrassed to have been spoken to in that manner by another person.

'I wonder if he's still upset about that... Come to think of it, I don't remember hearing him enter the store,' Kaho brooded.

Kaho was so deep in thought that she hadn't noticed that she had entered the local park, and was, at that time, already in the middle of the park, on one side of her, a baseball diamond, and on the other side, a thicket of trees.

She sighed, and looked around, and began hearing strains of music being played on a violin.

Emotionless, cold, precise music, but music nonetheless.

'I recognize this music,' Kaho thought, 'It's something by Paganini. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's by him. Dooshite? Why? Why do I know this? Am I this much of a music lover? Oh well."

Kaho headed in the direction of the music, carefully ducking underneath branches and stepping over roots and rocks.

She stopped for a few moments, and listened, watching a bird that had perched on a nearby branch that was also clearly listening to the music being played.

The piece ended with a bang, as can be expected with music by Paganini, but a new, softer gentler piece was played.

~Five minutes ago~

Len set his stuff down on a bench, surrounded by trees. The bench hadn't even been surrounded by concrete, it was just sitting on dirt on the edge of a small circular clearing, about eight to nine feet in diameter.

Len stuck his sheet music onto a tree, using a tiny bit of sap, just high enough for it to be a good "music stand".

'Paganini's Violin Caprice No. 24 in A Minor,' Len thought, 'Not one of Paganini's most emotionless pieces, but it'll have to do. It's the only piece I have by him, and I haven't played it in a while.'

Len took his bow out of the violin case checked the rosin on it to make sure it was sufficient, then pulled out his violin. He carefully pushed the shoulder rest into position at the base of his violin, placed it at his chin, checked the tuning, then set his mind to playing the music.

As soon as the piece ended, he sighed, placed his violin gently into it's case again, but didn't strap it in just yet, for he intended to play another piece.

He pulled his sheet music off the tree, carefully wiped the dot of sap off of the center of the top of his music sheets.

'It's odd that a tree with a trunk that's thick enough that all my sheet music will fit on it is growing in this park,' Len quickly brushed this thought off, placing the sheet music back in it's folder, and pulled out another set of sheet music.

Again, he put the sheets on the tree, pulled his violin back out of it's case, placed it as his chin, and drew his bow gracefully across it's strings.

Kahe turned her face up to the sky and gazed at the clouds, all the while listening to the piece.

'It's so sad... So... Melancholy,' she kept moving forward, longing to meet the creator of such beautiful music.

'Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1, Part 2,' Len thought, his hands moving skillfully, 'I feel like a dam is about to burst. All these emotions have welled up inside me.. What's wrong with me?'

Len shook his head inwardly.

'No one's listening to me right now anyway. Why not let this river of emotions flow freely?'

Len succumbed to his emotions, letting them wash away his icy exterior.

He became completely vulnerable to the world as his fingers flew across his fingerboard.

Kaho quietly stepped into the clearing.

'Tsukimori-kun?' Kaho stepped back in shock, 'He's... Crying?'

It was true. Len did indeed have teary trails running down his cheeks.

Kaho walked quietly until she was right behind him, around a foot away from the back of the bench.

She clasped the papers she was holding with both hands in front of her, and closed her eyes, letting Len's music flow over her, a blanket shielding her from the reset of the world.

'It's so sad,' Kaho thought vaguely; these thoughts came to her unknowingly, 'It sounds like his heart is crying, like it's hurting, and no one can help him.'

The piece came to an abrupt end as Len realized someone was listening to him.

He turned around swiftly, a look of panic in his eyes as he saw Kaho behind him.

'She's crying,' he thought, 'My music made her cry. My music made the one person I love as much as my parents cry. '

Len shook his head.

'I don't love her. I don't love her. I don't love her. I don't love her. Yeah. Maybe if I keep telling myself that, it's come true.'

With that thought, he turned back around, and quickly and carefully placed his violin back in it's case, shortly thereafter followed his bow.

He closed his case, and hurried back to his home, thinking all the while, 'I hurt her. I hurt her. And I think I love her.'

(Fast forward a bit)

Len had just gotten out of the shower, was wearing indigo pajama pants, and no shirt. (Insert wolf whistle here)

He crawled into bed, and let sleep overtake him as the day's events replayed in his mind.

Len bolted awake.

'Baka!' he thought, 'How could I have forgotten my sheet music on that stupid tree! Baka!'

Len hurriedly shrugged a black v-neck on, pulled on a pair of jeans, a pair of socks, and slipped his feet into his sneakers.

He sprinted out the door, and onto the pavement, and out the gate that marked the entrance of his house.

After around fifteen minutes of sprinting, he had arrived at the park.

After catching his breath, he made his way over to the thicket of trees that contained the bench beside the tree that, hopefully, still had his sheet music on it.

Len walked quickly to the clearing, and stopped short when he saw what awaited him there.

"H-Hino-san?"

Len's voice faltered, not believing what he saw.

Kaho was sitting at the base of the tree, his sheet music in her hands, fast asleep.

Len took a step forward, then another, then another, and continued to do so until he had reached Kaho.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, and was about to gently shake it to wake her up, when she began mumbling in her sleep.

"Tsukimori-kuuun," she mumbled, "Kaho daiski Tsukimori-kun."

At hearing that, Len could feel blood rushing to his cheeks.

He finally decided to gently wake her up, and his heart was sent aflutter when Kaho's amber eyes opened sleepily and gazed into his own.

Thankfully, it was dark enough so that Len wasn't afraid of letting Kaho see his blush.

Upon seeing Len clearly, Kaho's eyes whipped open, and she stood up quickly with a, "Tsukimori-kun!"

Unfortunately for Kaho, she stood up TOO quickly, and she began to fall, feeling lightheaded and weak..

Thankfully, Len caught her, but this put them both in what they would call an awkward situation. (We as the audience simply love it though.)

Kaho was wrapped in Len's arms, their faces inches away from each other, their bodies pressed tightly together..

Kaho looked away bashfully and began to stand up on her own.

"A-arigato Tsukimori-kun," Kaho blushed, "Here. You left your sheet music here..."

Len nodded, "Arigato, Hino-san."

He bowed his head slightly, turned to leave, when Kaho suddenly grabbed his from behind and wrapped her arms around hims.

Len heard her say something, but it was muffled by his shirt.

"Nande?" he said inquiringly, turning around.

Kaho hugged him full on and said, "Don't leave yet Tsukimori-kun.. I... I have something I want to say."

Len looked at Kaho inquiringly.

Kaho stared at the ground, shuffled her feet and mumbled something.

"Nani?" Asked Len, "I didn't quite get that."

Kaho continued to stare at the ground and shuffled her feet.

"Nandemonai, Tsukimori-kun," she suddenly exclaimed, "See you on Monday."

Kaho turned to leave, when Len caught her arm.

"Kahoko-san," Len said gently, "Tell me. Onegai?"

Kaho fell into Len's arms and said, "Tsukimori-kun?"

"Ah?" Len replied, looking into Kaho's eyes intently, hugging her close.

Kaho blushed and looked away again.

This time, Len grasped her chin, and forced her to look at him.

"Onegai, Kaho-san, tell me?" Len asked softly.

Kaho blushed at Len's blatant use of her name.

"Kaho daiski Tsukimori-kun," she murmured, just loud enough for him to hear.

"I don't care if you don't feel the same way about me," she began, "But I've liked you since I heard you play Ave Maria for the first time, in the practice room. I fell in love with you when I heard you play your soft music, when it pierced my heart with it's soft tunes."

"Kaho-san," Len said, shocked by her outburst.

Kaho turned her head away, and began to push him away, when Len suddenly pulled her close, and kissed her forehead.

"I... I love you too, Kahoko," Len murmured.

Kaho relaxed against Len, and rested her cheek on his chest.

Slowly, and still unsure of himself, Len took his hand, placed it under Kaho's chin, and pulled her face up towards his.

He lowered his face as he pulled Kaho's up.

Soon, their faces were only centimeters away from each other.

Kaho's hand was still on Len's chest, and Len was sure she could feel it beating.

'My heart feels as it it'll beat right out of my chest any moment now. Of course she can feel it!' he thought angrily at himself.

Suddenly, Kaho's hand moved from Len's chest to the back of his neck.

She pulled him down, and their lips became closer by the second.

Closer and closer and closer until...

Len woke up.


	2. Pants and Piano Stools

**Chapter 2: Pants and Piano Stools**

'What the heck was that? Why did I say that I love Hino? Do I honestly like her?'

Len groggily sat up, pushed his dark blue covers away, and sleepily walked over to his window, drew open the curtains, and let the sunlight in.

Once enough light had shone in, Len noticed the small stack of papers that rested on top of his bedside table.

A little note on top said, "Tsukimori-kun, you left your sheet music in the park yesterday. Your music was so beautiful that it moved me to tears. Please don't be angry with me for listening to you play your violin. But it truly was very beautiful. Arigato, Hino Kahoko."

Len blushed a bit, and took the note off the stack of sheet music, and flopped onto his bed.

He read, and reread the note, and finally placed it in one of his desk drawers.

Looking out his window, Len shielded his eyes from the light with one arm, turned his back, put his arm down, and began getting dressed.

'Ugh… It's too bright…'

'Wait a second here… It's much too bright for it to be morning! What time is it?'

Len stumbled to his bedroom door (wearing only his indigo pajama pants over his boxers and no shirt), opened it, and wandered downstairs into the kitchen to look at the clock on the microwave (that he never uses)…

'I really need to get a bedside clock,' he thought sleepily, yawing and rubbing his eye.

Before he got to check the time, he heard some giggling, and turned around to see Hihara, Yunoki, Fuyuumi, Kaho, Kaho's friends Mio & Nao, Tsuchira, Shimizu, and Len's mother.

Mio & Nao were giggling, Fuyuumi & Kaho were blushing like mad, Yunoki was smirking, Hihara's jaw had dropped, Tsuchira 's back was turned (of course he was trying hard not to burst out in laughter), Shimizu was just blinking sleepily thinking 'I wish I had sempai's confidence to appear in front of girls like that', and lastly, Len's own mother, who was smiling a little, due to the fact that her plan was working perfectly.

'Please, please, please, PLEASE let me be having a nightmare,' thought Len as he closed his eyes raised his hand to his upper arm to pinch himself.

'Ouch. That hurt. But at least I'm awake now,' he thought, opening his eyes.

'They're still here,' he thought, 'They're here, in my house, in my kitchen no less!'

"Okaasan, what are they doing here?" asked Len angrily. He didn't appreciate being laughed at this 'early' in the 'morning'.

"We saw her at the mall, and your mom invited us over for a late lunch," stated Tsuchira snarkily.

'Lunch? Exactly what time IS it?' Thought Len as he turned around to check the time.

Len's eyes widened in shock… The clock read '2:00 PM'…

'How long was I asleep? Why did I sleep so late?'

Unknown to everyone there, Hamai Misa, Len's mom, had slipped a sleeping pill in a glass of water that she woke her son up late last night to drink.

'There,' she had thought, 'that should keep him asleep until tomorrow evening.'

You see, Hamai had planned this all out… She had decided to play at a charity event at the (amphitheatre which was located in the mall), and give tickets to Kahoko, and some of Len's other friends…

Afterwards, she met up with them and invited them over…

And that brings us up to now…

"Len, I think you should go change… Besides, I think it would be easier for us to talk to you if you had a shirt on," said his mother.

Len looked down and blushed…

"Hai okaasan," he said sheepishly.

Just before he turned to go upstairs, Hamai said, "Oh, and Hino-chan was kind enough to drop off the sheet music that you left at the park yesterday."

Len nodded to Kaho.

"Arigato, Hino-san," he mumbled.

Kaho blushed and nodded in reply.

As Len trudged up the stairs (still sleepily, at this point he's half awake, and barely forming coherent thoughts) he began remembering what had just happened.

By the time he got back to his room, he was wide awake, and blushing from head to toe.

'What... What did I just do? I just walked downstairs into a room full of my classmates. They saw me shirtless. Wait. Rewind a bit here. My classmates. Downstairs. Me. Shirtless. '

"Aaaaarrrrrgggggghhhhhh!" he exclaimed.

From downstairs he could hear his mom talking.

Her voice wafted through the door way and he heard, "And this was Len when he was three, and this is him at that age at Halloween… I remember that year… When he was that age, he adored bears… It was so CUTE! I seem to recall him wanting me to call him Lenny-bear…"

'Oh crap… Please don't show them the picture of-" he thought, but was interrupted again by his mom.

"OH! And this is a picture of him at the age of two! This was right after he decided that his favorite food was peanut butter, and he decided to wear it that day… You see, my husband and I were out in the dining room entertaining some guests, and we didn't know he was awake yet, and he wandered in wearing nothing but his teddy bear underwear and a LOT of peanut butter," laughed Lens mom…

At this point, Len was getting dressed as fast as he could, and was listening to their discussion as well.

Suddenly he heard Kaho exclaim, "Is this a picture of your whole family? Is that Len? He looks so CUTE at that age! Wait a second… I just remembered! I have something I wanted to return to a certain music store, but I guess if it's okay, I'd like to show you guys this video of Tsuchira-kun."

Len had appeared in the kitchen at the exact time that Kaho said "video of Tsuchira-kun"…

Suddenly Shimizu looked up, and asked, "Sempai, why do you have a video of Tsuchira-sempai?"

"Oh, that's simple really. I asked for a video of a pianist playing Chopin's Nocturne in E, and he handed me this video," stated Kaho simply.

Meanwhile Tsuchira was just looking at the proceedings in shock…

"You have a video of me playing Chopin's Nocturne? Wait, did you watch it yet," asked Tsuchira hastily.

"Eh? Oh, no I haven't but considering that I just put it in, we will right now," smiled Kaho sweetly…

'I wonder why that green-headed bozo seems so anxious' wondered Len.

The video started, and showed Tsuchira playing at a very young age

Mio & Nao were giggling yet again in the background, and Nao finally said, "I wonder how you felt about seeing that movie. Eh Kaho-chan?"

Hihara looked at Nao in shock and exclaimed, "Iie! Kaho doesn't feel that way about Tsuchira! They're just really good friends!"

At this point, Yunoki was just smirking, Fuyuumi and Shimizu were looking from person to person, depending on who was talking, and Len said, "Well, why don't we see this video already? I want to practice, and clearly my mother won't let me do that while you guys are here."

"Haaaai," said Kaho, "Let's play it!"

Suddenly, Tsuchira appeared on screen, he looked to be about seven years old, and very anxious to get this video recording of him over, and quickly.

The Tsuchira at the present time saw the beginning of the video and blushed…

"Oh, no… PLEASE don't let this video be the one where-"

'Rrrrrrrrip!'

'Great…' thought Tsuchira as he turned to the screen to view himself stand up, bow, and turn to the side and bow, and have people (both back then, and the people viewing now) view his power rangers undies through the rip in his pants.

"Tsuchira! What happened?" Exclaimed Hihara.

Tsuchira rubbed his hand against his head, and smiled sheepishly.

"My pants got stuck on the corner of the piano bench, and, well… You see what happened," he explained. (A/N: idk, is that kinda OOC?)

One corner of Len's mouth lifted suddenly… Then the other corner followed.

Then he grinned… Pretty soon, he was in an all out laugh, and everyone was just staring at him.

"Are, are, are you LAUGHING?" asked Hihara incredulously.

Len's laughter seemed to be contagious… Soon, everyone in the room seemed to be laughing, except Misa Hamai, and Azuma.

Misa was too shocked at seeing Len laugh to laugh herself, and Azuma decided that it was too 'undignified' to laugh along with the others, so he just smiled. (A/N: SORRY YUNOKI FANS! Please don't flame me!)

After they finished their laugh-fest, a blushing Tsuchira, Misa, Kaho, and Fuyuumi worked to prepare a late lunch for the group.

Since the guys knew what a "genius" Ryo (Tsuchira) was at cooking Fried rice, they requested that from him.

Hamai decided that the fried rice needed veggies to go along with it, so she got some Bok Choy out from the fridge and got some chicken broth, added some onions and potatoes, and they had soup with Ryo's fried rice.(A/N: Am I confusing my asian veggies again? Ugh… nvm, they all taste good to me… except brussel sprouts… and celery… *shudders* but then again, I guess they could be considered American veggies… :P)

"SUGOI!" exclaimed Kaho and Hihara.

Shimizu looked up and said, "This is really good. Thank-you for cooking."

Misa looked up, smiled and said, "Not at all! I just got the vegetables, Fuyuumi's the one who actually put all the ingredients together, and at the perfect time too!"

Fuyuumi just ducked her head and blushed. "Arigatoo gosaimas," she said, "But Kaho-sempai helped too."

Kaho froze. "No I didn't! All I did was wash the vegetables! And I didn't even do THAT well! Tsuchira-kun had to help me," she exclaimed.

"Ah, the modesty of young people. You don't find that very often these days, and it's very refreshing to see you use it Hino," said Misa amiably.

"But, but, but, but-," stammered Kaho.

"But nothing my dear," smiled Misa, "what I said was the truth, and I'm proud of you."

"A-arigatoo gosaimas," said Kaho happily.

"Oh, that reminds me," said Misa, "Speaking of modesty, I have a video of Lenny-bear here, and it's not too modest at all, and I'd like you all to see it before you leave."

"Eh?," inquired Kaho.

"Okaasan!," exclaimed Len, "PLEASE! No videos!"

"I can't promise that, BUT, I CAN promise a LOT of rewinding and replaying," smirked Misa.

Just a few moments ago, Misa had disappeared into another room in search of the mystery video about Len that they were about to see.

'This should be interesting,' thought Azuma, 'I wonder what kind of video it could have been to make Tsukimori act that way…'

"Here it is," exclaimed Misa, "I finally found it! Okay, this is from the day after Len's second birthday, and as well as bears, Len also loved superheroes back then, so this is Len's impersonation of his favorite superhero."

Misa inserted the video into the system, and waited for it to come up.

Len looked extremely irritated, and suddenly plopped himself down on the couch next to Shimizu (who was actually wide awake for once, obviously he didn't want to miss a second of the festivities)…

Suddenly the door opened, and Tsukimori's father walked in, wearing a black, two button jacket suit, light blue dress shirt, black slacks, and dress shoes. His hand was on his head, and walked to the kitchen fridge while muttering something about "not being able to find any orange juice anymore."

"Len," he shouted, "Did you drink out of the carton again? Did you finish the orange juice? Do we have ANY juice at all?"

"Honey, did you check behind the milk," smiled Misa sweetly with an eyebrow raised.

Mio, Nao, and Kaho giggled at Jun Tsukimori (A/N: I don't know if that's really his name, I can't find it anywhere, so let's just go with that.)

"Found it," he exclaimed, "thanks darling."

He looked up and saw everyone looking at him while either smirking, or giggling.

"Eh? I'm not decent, and we're not signing autographs now! Why don't you get Bunnny Boy over there to sign you some," Jun exclaimed while blushing and hiding behind the fridge door.

"Bunny Boy," asked Kaho, "What do you mean?"

"Never mind that," said Misa to Kaho, and then to her husband she said, "You look fine dear, and they're not here for autographs, they're Len's friends,"

"My son has friends? Oh happy day," he exclaimed while dancing around the kitchen.

"Otousan," Len exclaimed while flushing a light pink, "These are my schoolmates. This is Hihara-sempai, Yunoki-sempai, Tsuchira, Shimizu, Fuyuumi, Hino-san, Mio, and Nao."

"Konichiwa Tsukimori-san," they chorused.

"Hello, everyone, what are we doing?," Jun inquired.

"Well, we were about to watch a video of Tsukimori-kun impersonating a superhero," said Kaho.

"Oh, well I hope you don't mind if I join in on the fun, I haven't seen this video in a while myself," said Jun.

"Sure! We don't mind," Kaho said.

'Tsukimori-kun's dad acts like an older version of Hihara-sempai, he's not acting at all like he was during the concours,' thought Kaho, 'This must be what he's like at home.'

"Okay! Now that we're all ready, let the fun begin," exclaimed Misa.

The video starts off with the camera facing Misa. (A/N: She's the one taking all the footage, so she's the one holding the camera to face herself.)

"As you can see," she says, "today we are filming Len."

A shout is heard from the background.

"I am not Len! I am Boxer the Bunny Boy!"

The camera swings to capture Len, in bunny pajamas, with a pair of white and black polka dotted boxers on his head, bunny ears on top of the boxers, rolls of toilet paper in each hand, and a light teal blanket tied around his neck as a cape.

It is early in the morning, and Misa points the camera to the first victim that has been exposed to Boxer the Bunny Boy's "justice".

"Jun," she gasped, "What happened here?"

Len's father has been totally wrapped from head to toe in toilet paper, and as a gag, has had toilet paper stuffed in his mouth.

Misa helps pull the gag/toilet paper out of her husband's mouth.

"I tried to make Len eat the yolks from his sunny side up, and he ran upstairs and came down like that," he explained, "The next thing I knew, I ended up like this."

Giggles are heard from Mio, Nao, and Kaho.

At this point, Hihara is already at la full blown grin, and Len is scowling.

Ryo is laughing his butt off, Azuma is smirking, Misa is smiling, and Jun is blushing.

(Back in the video)

"KYAAAAAAAA!"

"What was that," asked Jun.

Crumpled up pieces of wet toilet paper are seen flying through the air.

One piece hits the camera, and falls off.

"Bunny Boy" is seen running away.

Misa turns to Jun. "Isn't our son cute?"

"Speak for yourself," he grumbles.

A crash is heard from the practice room.

Misa and Jun run to see what happened.

"Otou-san," Len says, "What's this?"

"That's a violin," his father says, "In fact, we were going to give this to you yesterday, but we forgot, so here you go."

"ARIGATOO OTOU-SAN!" Len then jumped on his dad and wrapped him on a bear hug.

Suddenly a thought occurs to Len.

"But," sniffles the forlorn child, "I don't know how to play."

"Don't worry, I'll teach you," comforts Jun.

"YAYYYYY!"

Then Len promptly wraps his father in ANOTHER hug.

And the video ends.

Len's scowl deepens.

Azuma smiles yet ANOTHER princely smile and says, "That was quite amusing, don't you think?"

"So THAT's how you got interested in the violin… I didn't know that," mused Kaho, "And I had no idea you were so CUTE when you were little!"

"Boxer the Bunny Boy?," laughed Ryo, "I had no IDEA you could make me laugh so much!"

"Please don't comment on my behavior back then. I was a toddler, what could you expect?" said Len coldly.

"But that's just HILARIOUS," said Ryo, tears coming out the sides of his eyes, "Ah, ow, ow ,ow, my sides hurt! I haven't ever laughed this much!"

Mio and Nao were still giggling, and Fuyumi was blushing.

"I wonder if Sempai still has that costume," mused Shimizu sleepily.

Apparently, staying completely awake for such a long period of time had its effects on him.

"Oh! Yes! I kept that costume! But I think it's somewhere in the attic, so it would take a while to find. The next time you come over I'll probably have found it, so I'll show it to you then," exclaimed Misa.

"Hai! We'll come over soon! I wouldn't want to miss seeing that costume," smirked Ryo.

Kaho suddenly glanced at Ryo's watch.

"Eh? It's that late already? I have to go," she exclaimed, "I have to go to the park. Thanks for inviting me over!"

"Kaho-chan! Wait! I'll come with you," exclaimed Hihara, "Thanks for inviting us over, The food was DELICIOUS! We'll come back soon!"

"We'll all come with you," exclaimed Mio and Nao.

"Len, why don't you go with them, there's certainly nothing for you to do here, so go enjoy yourself," said Misa.

"Hai, Okaasan. Hino, I hope you don't mind if I tag along," said Len, sounding slightly irritated.

'Jeez, why do all of them have to come? I was supposed to meet Niriya,' thought Kaho, 'but then again, it's not like I can just say no now is it?'

She sighed and said, "Sure, I don't mind."

"GREAT," exclaimed Hihara, "Thanks again for the great food Hamai-san! Bye!"

(A/N: I didn't know if her first or last name was Hamai, so I just guessed, and yeah.)

After everyone said their proper goodbyes, they set off to the park.

As soon as they arrived at the park, Kaho spotted Niriya.

"Niriy-," she called.

Mio and Nao saw him and thought, 'So THAT'S Niriya!'

'Who IS this guy,' thought Ryo, Hihara, and Azuma.

At the sight of Niriya, Len clenched his fists ever so slightly and thought, 'It's HIM again.'

Fuyuumi and Shimizu weren't paying attention to any of the others, they were too busy talking about their favorite cello and clarinet pieces and complimenting each other.

Suddenly, Niriya turned around, but something was wrong…

You see, instead of him smiling and talking to Kaho, his Lips were occupied with something, or rather, SOMEONE else.

Attached to Niriya's lips in a full-blown make-out session, was a brown haired individual.

Kaho saw this and fell to the ground, tears streaming down her face.

Suddenly Niriya and the girl broke apart.

"What's wrong Niriya-kun?," the girl asked.

"Nothing, Aiko, but I just remembered that I have to meet someone, and she's supposed to be here already, so I have to go," explained Niriya.

"She?" Asked Aiko, "Your sister, or something, right?"

Niriya shook his head. "Iie, baka, it's my girlfriend. Didn't I tell you already?"

He reached out and tried to give Aiko a goodbye kiss.

"You have a GIRLFRIEND," said Aiko incredulously, shoving Niriya away.

"Aiko, I told you that already," said Niriya.

"You NEVER told me that! Every time you kissed me you've been hurting her," exclaimed Aiko, "I want you to tell her what you've been doing and apologize! What we've been doing isn't right! I don't want anyone to be hurt!"

"Too late," said Kaho. She had managed to stand up, and although there were tears running down her face, her voice was strong and solid.

"Kaho!," exclaimed Niriya, and engulfed her in a hug.

She pushed him away and slapped him.

"How DARE you? You toyed with me! You told me you loved me, and then this happened? It's over Niriya," said Kaho.

"You don't understand! I do love you! Why else would I transfer into your school," asked Niriya.

Shimizu and Fuyuumi looked up from their conversation.

"You WHAT?," exclaimed Kaho, "You idiot! You've been cheating on me all this time, and you DARE to enter into my school to LIE to me MORE? How do I know you won't just trick my friends into kissing you too," exclaimed Kaho.

By that time, Mio and Nao were glaring at Niriya, Hihara and Azuma were holding Tsuchira back, Shimizu looked like he was about to explode from anger (A/N: I know that's kinda hard to imagine, but bear with me here), Fuyuumi walked up to hug Kaho and keep her from falling, and Tsukimori walked up and sucker punched Niriya.

"How dare you toy with her affections," said Len, clenching his fists even more tightly now, "It is because of scum like you that others are afraid to show their true affections to others for fear of being betrayed."

Kaho looked up just in time to see Len punch Niriya, and hear Len talk to him. 'What does he mean?' she wondered, 'Was he talking about himself when he talked about being afraid to show affection?'

Yunoki let go of Ryo and walked up to Niriya.

"You have hurt a friend of mine, and you shall not be forgiven quickly," he said softly, for only Niriyu to hear, "You mentioned transferring to our school? Well, I shall make sure that you'll either transfer out in record time, or I will make your life a living hell."

In a louder voice, he said, "Hurting Hino-san is unforgivable. Trash like you don't deserve to have such wonderful counterparts as her."

Then he walked back to stand by Ryo and Hihara.

Niriya's eyes widened. Suddenly he smirked, and looked at Kaho.

"You accused me of cheating," he said bluntly, "and I don't deny it, but here you are, hanging out with THEM. How do I know that you weren't cheating on me too?"

Kaho suddenly burst into tears. She said, "You know what? I thought I loved you."

At this, all the boys' eyes widened, and Kazuki walked up to hug Kaho.

"But," she murmured, gently shrugging Kazuki off, "I realize now that I was just blinded by your pretty words, and worthless promises. You dare accuse me of cheating on you? For weeks, you were all I could think about. I got dressed each day wondering if you'd like what I was wearing. But now, now I know that I don't need you. I need them. THEY are my friends. THEY have been there for me through EVERYTHING.

I even invited you to come see the concours, but you said you couldn't.

See Tsuchira over there? (Ryo's eyes widened)

He helped me during the first selection, when no one else would.

You see Hihara-sempai over there? (Kazuki's jaw dropped)

He helped me get over my fear of playing in public.

You see Shimizu-kun? (Shimizu looked up)

He helped me realize that I love the violin.

Yunoki-sempai?

He helped me realize that I can't give up my dreams, no matter what. (Azuma smiled slightly)

Tsukimori-kun?

He showed me how beautiful the violin is, how it's a window that allows people to see into your heart. (the tips of Len's ears reddened ever so slightly as he struggled to keep a straight face)

Mio and Nao? (they looked at each other and back at Kaho)

They've been giving me support since day one.

And Fuyuumi-chan? (A silent tear ran down Shoko's cheek, grateful to be mentioned in her sempai's rant. )

She taught me that no matter what, my friends will ALWAYS be there for me.

And what have YOU done for me? You told me what I wanted to hear. You told me lies, you said you loved me. And this happened. All I can say is, Goodbye Mantako-san. I'd like to say I'd miss you, but I'd be lying, and I don't want to do that. Even to you."

Kaho turned on her heel and started walking away, with Hihara and Len as support.

Suddenly Shouko did something very out of character. She walked up to Niriya and slapped him.

She glared at Niriya and practically snarled, "When you hurt Kaho-sempai, you hurt all of us. We will remember this incident, and if you EVER get close to Kaho again, we WILL know, and we WILL prevent you from hurting her again."

She turned on her heel and walked away.

Aiko looked at Niriya and said, "You know what? You're an asshole. You know that she liked you and you did that to her?"

Mio and Nao looked at her.

Aiko turned to Kaho, who, hearing Aiko say that to him had turned around.

"Hino, I'm sorry, can you forgive me? I know that what I did was wrong, but before he had never mentioned that he had a girlfriend, and I just assumed he was single," she explained earnestly, "Please, could you give me a chance to be your friend?"

Kaho looked at Aiko and smiled a little.

"I accept your apology Aiko, and of course we can be friends. I know that you didn't know that Niriya was cheating on me, so you can't be blamed," said Kaho.

"Let's go then," said Len, "I don't want to be seen hanging around trash like him."

Kaho was suddenly wrapped in Mio's, Aiko's and Nao's arms.

Azuma walked up to them and wiped tears from Kaho's tear-stained face.

Hihara walked up and engulfed all of them) in a bear hug.

Ryo joined the festivities.

Fuyuumi and Shimizu walked up and hugged Kaho as well.

Pretty soon almost everyone was included in the hug.

Ryo looked up and saw Len standing off to the side.

"Oi! Tsukimori! If we're stuck in this, the you might as well suffer with us too," he exclaimed, and Mio and Nao pulled him in the group hug.

Later on, they decided to go to the cake shop, and they all pooled their money together to get what they wanted.

Kaho got melon bread, Ryo and Hihara each got a slice of mocha cake, Len got pandan cake (it's a certain type of flavoring, like vanilla), Mio, Nao and Aiko got chocolate, and Fuyuumi and Shimizu each got slices of strawberry cake.

While Kaho was at the counter ordering the food, the others were finding a table.

Aiko, Mio, and Nao walked up to Kaho.

"Hino-san? I just wanted to know, have you ever kissed Niriya-kun?" inquired Aiko.

The rest of the group heard this, and of COURSE their ears perked up to hear the response.

"I-iie," stammered Kaho, "You see, he asked once, and I said I wasn't ready, and... Yeah..."

She immediately started blushing, and all the guys heaved a sigh of relief, except for Shimizu, who was fast asleep, dreaming about Shouko's music, and the way she defended Kaho earlier.

"Oh, gomen Hino-san. I'm sorry about reminding you of him," apologized Aiko.

"That's alright," said Kaho sadly, "I should have guessed that he was too perfect to be true… Oh, and please call me Kaho, or Kahoko, Or Kaho-chan, because Hino-san feels too formal."

Mio looked up with a sparkle in her eyes…

"If it's too formal, then why do you let Tsukimori-kun call you Hino-san," she asked teasingly.

"B-but. He insists on calling me Hino-san! Since it's Tsukimori-kun, I can't really DO anything about it," she protested.

"Yes you could," said a voice behind her.

"Eh? Ts- tsukimori-kun! Don't do that! And what do you mean," she asked.

"You could have asked me to call you by a different name," he stated.

'She is so hard-headed,' thought Len.

"Eh? Really? Okay then. Tsukimori-kun, could you please call me Kaho, or Kahoko, or something other than Hino-san? And that goes for you too Tsuchiura-kun," she requested.

"Fine then, Kaho-san," said Len.

"I'll call you Kaho," said Ryo, smiled and ruffled Kaho's hair.

"Mou, Tsuchiura-kun," she exclaimed, an indignant look covering her features.

Ryo laughed and a grin replaced the stern look on Kaho's face.

Soon enough, everyone was laughing.

Suddenly Kaho's phone began to ring.

Still smiling at her friends, she answered it.

"Moshi moshi?"

"Kahoko-chin? I'm sorry. I love you."

"Niriya-kun? Why- why are you calling me? I... They... I mean... You're supposed to leave me alone!"

"I know, but I'm sorry. And I really DO love you."

"Iie, Niri-, ah, I mean Mantako-san, you don't. You're lying again. So please stop and leave me alone."

"But-"

"Goodbye Niriya."

Hino hung up the phone, with tears streaming down her face.

She crumpled in the closest persons arms and began sobbing.

The lucky person that got her in his arms was Len. Almost immediately he started blushing, then regained his composure and began rubbing her back.

Ryo suddenly got up and walked to Kaho and Len.

"Kaho, give me your phone," demanded Ryo.

"A-ano? Why?"

"Kaho. Give. Me. The. Phone. That B*stard is going to pay."

"H-hai, Tsuchira-kun. Here," she sobbed.

She handed her phone to him.

Immediately, he hit redial and but the setting on speaker phone(as in everyone could hear).

"Hello? Kahoko?" said Niriya.

"You idiot, this is her friend Tsuchiura. Leave her alone. She doesn't want to associate with the likes of you. Think about this you asshole,(everyone looked up at Ryo's use of vulgar language) right now, she is crying. She's crying her eyes out in another guy's arms. Another. Guy's. Arms. Not yours. Why? Because of you. It's YOUR fault she's hurting. It's YOUR fault tears are slipping down her cheeks one after another. If you really do love her, you'll leave her alone. Understand?"

Niriya's voice sounded dismayed as he responded, "I understand. Please give her my apologies."

"Goodbye," said Ryo stonily and hung up.

At this point, Ryo's face was red with anger, and he looked about ready to punch something.

"It's Tsuchiura, right," asked Aiko.

He nodded stiffly, still red in the face from his conversation with Niriya.

"Well then Tsuchiura-kun, cool it. Niriya's not worth getting angry over," she said, "Anyone who's capable of hurting people like that is trash, or worse, and they don't deserve the emotions or attentions of others. So just leave him alone. We can torture him enough tomorrow at school."

At that everyone looked up.

"WE? Whaddaya mean," asked Hihara incredulously.

"I'm transferring into Seiso. Originaly I did that to be with Niriya, but now I've changed my mind. I'm transferring so that I can stay friends with Kaho-chan," she said with a bittersweet smile on her face.

Kaho looked up and smiled gratefully at Aiko through her tears.

Kaho then threw herself onto Aiko to hug her.

"Arigatoo Aiko-chan! That's really nice of you," she exclaimed.

"Iie," said Aiko, "I want to, I don't have many friends at my old school, so being friends with you guys would DEFINITELY be a nice change."

"Eh? Impossible! Aiko-chan's so nice," exclaimed Kaho.

"Hai! And kawaii," exclaimed Hihara.

He then realized what he just said and blushed.

"A-arigatoo Hihara-sempai," said Aiko while blushing furiously.

Mio and Nao got up from hugging Kaho, and linked their arms through Aiko's arms, and said at the same time, "Just wait till you come to our school. You'll be swamped with friends."


	3. Coffee and Ice Cubes

**Chapter 3: Coffee and Ice Cubes**

Kaho opened her eyes. She stared at the ceiling and began thinking.

'Was yesterday a dream? Did Niriya-kun really cheat on me with Aiko? Did Fuyuumi-chan really slap him?'

Suddenly realization dawned on her that she had not dreamed all of those horrible happenings.

Tears began running down her face.

She shook her head, attempting to clear it and to get herself to stop crying.

'Stop crying! He is worthless, and he hurt you. He doesn't deserve you, and you need to get over him.'

But a little voice in the back of her head said, 'But did you hear him yesterday? Remember when he called you? Remember how he said he loves you?'

"No, no, NO," screamed Kaho, crying even harder.

Suddenly Kaho's older sister ran in the room.

"Imootosan! What's wrong? I heard you yelling, and I came here as fast as possible," said a still half asleep older sister.

"Oneesan," sobbed Kaho, "I broke with Niriya-kun yesterday."

"Eh? Why," asked Kazue incredulously(A/N: Kaho's older's sister's name. I didn't know her real name, so I improvised.).

"I- I saw him kissing a-another g-girl," stuttered Kaho, tears staining her porcelain face.

"You saw him WHAT? WHEN? I am going to KILL him," growled Kazue.

"Y-yesterday," sobbed Kaho, "I-in the p-park."

"He is so DEAD," Kazue said in a deadly calm voice; anger was emanating from every pore in her body.

"Kaho-chin, do you still wanna go to school today," asked Kazue sympathetically, "Because I can call you in sick today. I'm sure your school can handle one day without you there."

"H-hai Onee-san. I'm going t-to have to face N-niriya-kun sooner or later, so I might as well d-do it today," stuttered Kaho in between shuddering breaths.

"Eh? Whaddaya mean by that, Kaho," asked her sister, who looked extremely confused.

"N-niriya-kun transferred into my school. He's going to be attending today," said Kaho, now attempting to get dressed for school.

"EH? WHAT? But, but, but-" stammered Kazue.

"But nothing Onee-san," said Kaho, struggling to keep her voice firm now, "I will attend school to show Niriya that I am not affected, and that I no longer care for him."

"But you ARE affected! And you DO care," exclaimed Kazue.

"I know that, but Niriya doesn't, and that makes all the difference," said Kaho stubbornly, "Besides, the girl he cheated on me with is my friend, and she had no idea that he did that to me, so now I have another person on my side."

"WHAT? Wait just a dang second here! You're FRIENDS with the girl that your boyfriend CHEATED on you with," asked Kazue incredulously.

"Hai. And he's my EX," clarified Kaho.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," stated Kazue, "If you're SURE that you want to go to school today, I'll make you breakfast."

"I'm sure. And you would? Arigatoo," exclaimed Kaho happily.

'And I thought that I'd be stuck munching on cereal this morning,' thought Kaho.

At this point, she was almost completely ready for school, all she had to do was find her tie, and eat her breakfast, and leave.

'Where'd my tie go? Hmmmmm,' she thought while opening her dresser drawer specifically for ties.

She bagan tearing out all her ties, but she suddenly stopped.

She pulled out a red, bloodstained tie, much like the ones that the Music Department students wear.

Her eyes widened and she fell on her bed in shock.

'Eh? I still have Tsukimori-kun's tie? I thought I gave it back to him!'

Yet again she finds herself staring at the ceiling.

'I wonder what he's doing right now… Probably practicing…'

At that last notion, she smiled to herself.

'He always practices like it's going out of style. And he looks so handsome while practicing too… Ehhhhhhh? NO! I did NOT just think that! But he's so kawaii! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! Bad Kaho! BAD!'

Kaho sat up and shook her head in attempt to get the thoughts of Len out of her head.

The only thing that happened was her getting dizzy.

As soon as she regained her balance, she stood up and looked at the clock.

'Eh? 6:30 AM? I have half an hour to get to school! YAY! I've woke up early,' thought Kaho happily.

She walked over to her dresser and began rummaging AGAIN for her tie.

Finally she found it, and walked downstairs for her breakfast.

"Onee-san! Onee-san! What's for breakfast," asked Kaho while walking into the kitchen, still looking down and fiddling with her tie.

"Ohayou Hino-san," said a cold voice.

"Ano… Kaho? You friend here came over this morning to check to make sure you were okay," explained Kazue shamefacedly.

"Tsu-tsukimori-kun? O-ohayou," stammered Kaho, blushing like crazy.

'She looks cute when she blushes,' thought Len, 'Wait, what? NO! I can't think that! (mentally slaps himself) I need to focus on violin!'

Len's brow furrowed.

"Ohayou Kaho-san," said Len, looking slightly annoyed, (At himself of course, but Kaho didn't know that).

"Hurry up and eat your breakfast Kaho," said Kazue, "You can't be late to school again, unless of course you changed you mind?"

"Iie Onee-san, I'm going today," said Kaho stubbornly.

"Here's your rice Kaho, and some sausages. But hurry up so Tsukimori-san here won't be kept waiting long," scolded Kazue.

"Hai Onee-san," said Kaho.

"Here's your coffee Tsukimori-san, piping hot, just like you asked," said Kazue, handing over the mug.

Len looked at the mug.

'Nande? What's this?,' he thought, looking at the picture on the mug in well disguised shock.

"Excuse me Hino-san, but who is this," he asked tentatively.

"Eh? Oh, that's Kahoko-chan," murmured Kazue, a bit of sadness crossing her face, "We were going to a business party for our father, and Kaho was dressed like that, and Otou-san took a picture and had it put on the mug."

"She looks quite beautiful in this picture,' thought Len, 'I should not be thinking like this. Even if I DO love her, she probably loves that green headed, soccer-playing, twit, or that purple haired ladies' man. I don't stand a chance with her.'

In the picture, a younger Kaho, around middle school age, was wearing an off-white sleeveless dress with burgundy roses embroidered across the hem, and black roses embroidered at the top, and white heels, and her hair up in a ponytail.

At this point, Kaho was finished with the rice and sausages, and was finishing off her orange juice, when she saw the mug.

"EH? Onee-san! Why are you letting him use THAT mug," exclaimed Kaho, a blush tinting her porcelain cheeks.

"It was the first mug I saw Kaho, calm down, sheesh," said Kazue.

As Kazue said that, Kaho walked over to the sink with her plate in one hand, and her cup of orange juice in the other.

She dropped them in, and looked at Len to see if he was ready.

He was sipping from the mug, apparently in deep thought when Kaho came up to him and said, "Tsukimori-kun? Are you ready to go?"

"Mm," said Len, nodding his head slightly, "Arigato for the coffee, Hino-san."

"No problem, now go! Before you're late," exclaimed Kazue.

"Hai Onee-sama," exclaimed Kaho.

She grabbed her stuff and walked out of the house, Len trailing behind her.

A couple minutes later, Kaho opened her mouth to say something, because ever since she and Len had left her house, they hadn't spoken a word, but surprisingly, Len beat her to it.

"How have you been, Kaho-san," he said awkwardly.

"Fine, thanks, Tsukimori-kun. I'm sorry you had to see that yesterday," apologized Kaho.

"Mm," said Len, "Iie, I enjoyed punching him." 'Almost as much as I enjoyed defending you," he thought, blushing a bit.

"Eh? Chotto, Tsukimori-kun," asked Kaho.

"Mm," responded the bluenette.

"After you punched Niriya, what did you mean when you said, 'It is because of people like you that others are afraid to show their true affections to others for fear of being betrayed.'" asked Kaho tentatively.

"Nothing," said Len, shock emanating from him.

'She heard me? I thought she was paying attention to Hihara," he thought incredulously.

"Really? Well, never mind. I just wanted to thank you for what you did for me," she said gratefully.

They were walking side by side then, and Len looked down at her in shock, and saw the gratitude shining in her eyes.

"Mm," he said yet again, "Nandemonai (it was nothing)."

They walked up to the school gates.

"Bye Tsukimori-kun," said Kaho, "See you later."

"Kaho-san, wait," said Len, "If you feel up to another lesson today, meet me at the roof at lunch. It seems that all the practice rooms have been booked..."

"Hai," exclaimed Kaho, "Arigato Tsukimori-kun!"

"Mm," said Len walking to the music building, a hand raised in farewell.


	4. Tears and Traitors

**Chapter 4: Tears and Traitors**

Kaho walked into her classroom to drop her stuff off, earning wide-eyed looks from her other classmates that were also early.

"Is that Hino-san?" murmured a brunette to her seat mate.

Another mumbled, "Something must have happened, she's never this early."

Kaho, not deaf, heard all of this.

She turned to her classmates, smiled broadly, albeit a bit tightly, and loudly said, "Nothing's up, I someone just picked me up from school today, so I'm a bit early. Nothing big, 'kay?"

She forcefully grabbed her violin case, her folder of sheet music, and practically ran out of the classroom.

She hurried all the way up to the roof, seeking someplace quiet to gather her thoughts while practicing a bit before school.

Once at the roof, she burst through the door, ran to the bench, but her violin case down, opened it, and breathed a sigh of relief.

She had made it to the roof safely, without complications, and now there was no one to bother her.

Just her and her music.

Kaho lifted her violin out of the case, positioned her arms and her bow, closed her eyes, and began playing Schubert's Ave Maria.

After she finished, she dropped her arms, sat down on the ground, and cried, not knowing that the very source of her grief was standing directly behind her.

He had seen her dash through the halls, and had decided to follow her, if only to apologize so that she'd go back out with him

At the exact time that Niriya had walked up to her, Azuma was passing below, and happened to look up, and saw Kaho crumpled on the floor in tears, and Niriya behind her in the Music ed uniform.

Azuma's brow furrowed, and he thought, 'What the heck is that moron doing with Kaho? He will pay. Now, where's Tsuchira? I'd like to see him beat that idiot up again.'

Azuma smirked momentarily, then, upon remembering that his fangirls are watching, smiled his princely smile and went on his way to look for Tsuchira.

Meanwhile, on the roof, Kaho was still crumpled on the floor, sobbing.

Amou was hidden behind the door leading to the roof, hoping to get an exclusive interview from Niriya, when she heard Kaho's sobs.

"Why, Niriya," she cried, tears streaming down her face, "I trusted you! I gave you my faith! You had my HEART! What did I do to make you stop loving me?"

Niriya began walking towards her.

Amou's eye's widened, 'Is that Kaho-chan? Why is she crying about Niriya Mantako (Mantako is Niriya's last name),' she thought.

She hurriedly jotted down what Kaho just said, and quickly turned on and positioned her camcorder to catch a video of what else Kaho was saying through the doorway. (the door was open, but just a crack, just enough for Amou to get footage of what was happening.)

"What wasn't enough for you? Why did you stop loving me," sobbed Kaho.

"You said we'd always be together, you said you'd always love me. You said you loved my smile, my laugh, everything about me," said Kaho as she looked up at the sky, "And then, your best friend Kazuo told me you only loved me for my body. You know what his exact words were? He said 'He said you have nice tits and a great ass.'"

(A/N: SORRY FOR THE LANGUAGE! It's just, I'm using these words from a personal relationship, and I didn't know if they'd have the same effect it I changed around the words.)

Niriya's eyes widened in shock.

'WHAT?' thought Amou as her eyes grew to the size of saucers, 'That BASTARD! How DARE he hurt Kaho-chan!'(A/N: Again, sorry fot the language)

"When I heard him I was in shock. I didn't believe him at first, but then I began noticing things. You only asked me out after you saw a picture of me in a red dress. You only notice me when I wear shorts and low collared tops. But even then I tried to change for you. I tried to be a more energetic, happy person. From being sarcastic and narcissistic, to a cheerful, happy, always smiling person. And for what? I should have seen this coming. I should have known that you'd do this to me."

Kaho drew in a deep shuddering breath, and tried to compose herself.

Niriya had stepped back and was now seated on one of the benches.

Amou was sitting at the door to the roof, gripping her notebook so tightly that her nails had left holes in the pages.

Fuyuumi had come up the stairs to get Kaho, and saw Amou crouching by the door.

"A-Amou-sempai-" she began to say, but was interrupted when Amou put a hand to her lips and motioned for Fuyuumi to sit down with her and listen.

"But you know what? I didn't see it coming, and this happened as a result. I loved you with every fiber of my being. When I hurt myself, you were there, and you pulled me out of it. Then you complained AGAIN to Kazuo that I was too 'emo', and you couldn't take it anymore, and you were gonna break up with me. He told me what you said, of course. You see, he and I had been friends since grade school, but you never cared about that. But he told me, and that night, I changed myself. Instead of my usual dark colors, I wore bright vibrant colors whenever I saw you. I kept a happy smile plastered on my face no matter what. I changed my entire personality for you, and you cheated on me. And now you have the nerve to come here, to my school, after you insulted me, lied to me, said you loved me when you only loved how I looked! You told your friends you'd never go out with someone like me. You pretended to throw up whenever someone asked you if you liked me. You told others that you'd rather go boil yourself in oil than fall in love with me. I guess you were telling them the truth. You lied to me all along. You fooled me. So go on, take a bow. You put on a good show, and you had me in the palm of your hand the whole time. Good job. You broke my heart," said Kaho, a new round of sobs racking her body.

Niriyu stood up and said, "I never lied to you Kahoko."

Kahoko looked up at him in an emotionless state. "I suppose you heard the whole thing, hmm? You know, Kazuo was right. He said you never really loved me. He said you just used me. I didn't believe him at first, but now I see he was telling me the truth. You've probably been cheating on me the whole time. But I don't care anymore. You see, all those tears I cried just now? They were all for you. After today, I will never, ever cry another tear for you. And one more thing, leave me alone. I don't want to waste my time in talking to you, when you might lie to me more. And I don't want to be around liars and cheats," said Kaho in a solid voice.

Kaho stood up and turned around to face the view that the roof depicted.

Fuyuumi and Amou looked at each other and silently cheered. Suddenly they turned around to see Len walking up the stairs. (He had been at the foot of the stairs and had heard the whole thing)

Fuyuumi ran to him, for once not blushing, or stammering she said, "Tsukimori-sempai, Kaho-sempai's in trouble, and she needs your help, hurry! She's out on the rooftop."

Len nodded and glanced at Amou, still crouching by the door, her camcorder still running.

He nodded to her silently, and Amou's eyes, cold and angry at Niriya's stupidity seemed to say to Len, 'Kill that bastard. Make him pay for all that he's done to our Kaho-chan.'

Len looked back up, stepped over Amou and quietly opened the door.

He quietly walked a couple paces behind Niriyu and watched the proceedings.

"Kahoko-" pleaded Niriyu, but was interrupted.

"Don't call her that. You lost that right the moment you kissed another girl, still knowing how much you'd hurt Hino." Len's voice was rock solid and ice cold.

Kaho turned around in shock.

"Tsu-tsukimori-kun," she said in surprise.

Len ignored her as he advanced on the bastard that harmed his Kahoko.

'Wait, MY Kahoko? I like the sound of that, but she'd never feel the same way for me. I'm too much of an idiot to her,' he thought, 'But now, I have a moron to deal with.' He smiled in his head, but scowled even deeper in reality.

"You are the lowest of the low," said Len, "You heard her crying over you, and you just sat there and listened to her. You see her tear-stained face? Those tears were shed for YOU. Not for anyone else, but you. The one who shattered her heart. You sat your fat ass down, and didn't even have the decency to explain yourself. I suppose you thought that there wouldn't be any consequence for your actions, but you know what? Welcome to reality. And for you, this reality holds a world of pain, ten times what you put Hino through."

During Len's rant, Kaho had slowly walked towards him, and as Len raised his arm to punch the idiot again, Kaho walked around Niriya and wrapped her hands around Len's.

Len looked at her in surprise.

"Don't," she said gently, "I don't want you to risk damaging you hands on him, besides you already had a chance to hurt him, now it's my turn."

Len took a step back, and Kaho turned around, drew her hand back, and slapped Niriyu with all her might.

Then she leaned forward, and whispered in his ear, "One day you will realize what a mistake you made. I forgive you, but that does not mean that I want to associate myself with you. If you ever approach me or my friends again, you'll find yourself falling off a steep cliff onto sharp rocks."

She turned on her heel and walked away without a word of goodbye.


	5. Friends and Foes

**Chapter 5: Friends and Foes**

As soon as Kaho reached the doorway of the roof, she ran between Fuyuumi and Amou, and stumbled down the stairs, with Fuyuumi and Amou close behind.

Kaho ran past the buildings and trees, seeing them as only blurs. She ran past Ryo, Hihara, and Azuma, not even noticing when they called her name.

She ran, and she kept running until she reached the statue of Lili in the school's courtyard.

Once there, she sat down against the base of the statue, and hung her head between her knees, not shedding a single tear, but contemplating what just happened.

"Kaho-chan! Kaho-chan! Wait up Kaho-chan," exclaimed Hihara.

'Damn! That girl can run FAST,' he thought.

Hihara sprinted up to her and asked, "Kaho-chan, are you alright?"

Kaho seemed not to notice, so he squatted down to her level and lifted her chin up so she could see him.

A lone tear slid down her face.

Hihara helped her up, and gave her a tight hug.

Finally he let her go, after he realized what he had just done, his cheeks flushing bright red.

At this time, Ryo and Azuma had run up (well, Ryo had run up, Azuma had taken his sweet time, because running isn't his thing).

"Kaho," said Ryo, "What's wrong?"

Kaho just turned away, not yet ready to explain anything.

Mio, Nao, and Aiko had met up with Fuyuumi and Amou, who were running past their classroom in pursuit of Kaho.

Finally they arrived on scene, Amou carrying her camcorder in one hand while waving with her other hand.

"HEY! Tsuchira-kun! Hihara-sempai! Yunoki-sempai," she yelled while running to them," Good job! You caught Kaho-chan!"

"Here," said Amou to Fuyuumi, "Take my camcorder and play it so that Tsuchira-kun, Yunoki-sempai, Hihara-sempai, Mio-chan, Nao-chan, and Aiko-chan can see what happened. Okay?"

"Hai Amou-sempai," exclaimed Fuyuumi.

"Tsuchira-kun, Hihara-sempai, Yunoki-sempai, Aiko-chan, Mio-chan, and Nao-chan, go over to Fuyuumi, she'll play the video on my camcorder so you guys know what happened, and you don't have to bother asking Kaho what happened between her and Mantako Niriyu-san," said Amou.

"What did that brain-dead, moron do THIS time," growled Ryo.

"That brain-dead moron listened to Kaho cry herself to pieces over him, and didn't do anything about it, he didn't even try to explain himself" said a cold voice.

"Tsukimori," said Ryo, "What do you mean?"

"Watch the video, you'll see exactly what I mean," said Len frostily.

"Fine," said Ryo, glaring at Len.

He walked over to where Fuyuumi-chan was and began watching the video.

Meanwhile, Amou and Len stayed with Kaho, to make sure she's okay.

Suddenly Kaji Aoi walked up, his blond hair being ruffled by the breeze, his blue eyes looking concerned for Kaho's well being.

"Hino-san, what's wrong? Did something happen," asked Aoi.

"Kaji-kun," said Amou, "Please go over there to Fuyuumi-chan. The explanation is in the camcorder she's holding."

"Hai, Amou-san," said Aoi as he began walking over to Fuyuumi and the others.

Kaho, from her standing position looked down at the ground.

"Kaho-san, listen to me. That imbecile wasn't worth your time. He is a worthless nitwit that doesn't deserve your attention," said Len.

Kaho looked up in surprise.

"Eh," she said in shock, "Tsukimori-kun?"

'Oh shit,' thought Len, 'I just sounded concerned for her, and I implied that her attention is worth something. Crap. Crap. Crap.'

He mentally slapped himself.

Kaho walks over to him and waves her hand in front of his face.

"Tsukimori-kun," she says earnestly.

"Hm," he says, "Yes Kaho-san?"

"Arigatoo Tsukimori-kun," says Kaho as she steps up to hug him.

Kaho stood on the tips of her toes, wrapped her arms around Lan's neck, and hugged him tight.

Len's eyes widened, and his cheeks turned the faintest shade of pink as he slowly mosved to hug her back.

After a couple seconds, she let go, blushing.

'Did she just hug me? Why? Is she just being nice to me or what? And why am I feeling all tingly," wondered Len.

"G-gomen Tsukimori-kun," apologized Kaho, "I don't know what came over me."

"Iie, Kaho-san, it's okay, you needed to let you emotions out," said Len, leaning close so only she could hear.

"A-arigatoo, Tsukimori-kun," stammered Kaho, blushing, shocked at what Len just said.

Suddenly Len's eyes softened, and a small smile broke out on his face.

'She looks so cute when she's blushing. What am I THINKING? But then again, it's kinda true,' thought Len.

'Eh? Is Tsukimori-kun smiling? Is he okay," wondered Kaho.

She rubbed her eyes and blinked, and his smile was gone.

Instead of a smile, was Len's usual blank look.

'Did I just imagine that smile?' thought Kaho.

Suddenly Ryo, Hihara, Azuma, Aoi, Mio, Nao, Aiko, and Fuyuumi walked over.

All of the above except for Fuyuumi looked shocked and enraged.

Fuyuumi just looked furious.

'I'm going to KILL that bastard,' thought Azuma, Hihara, and Ryo.

'That asshole. Toying with Hino-san like that. He will regret his actions,' thought Aoi angrily.

Aiko ,Mio, and Nao were muttering amongst each other, conspiring against Niriya.

Fuyuumi looks at her friends in satisfaction.

'Good. It's nice to know that that idiot will be dealt with with extreme resentment,' she thought.

Kaho saw all her friends' angry faces and at once said, "Eh? You guys! Don't get frustrated over Niriya-san for me! This is my problem! Not yours! Please, just let it be!"

"Iie Kaho-chan," said Aoi, "If this is your problem, it's our problem too. You're our friend, and no one messes with our friends."

"Hai!," exclaimed Mio, Nao, and Aiko.

"A-arigatoo," stammered Kaho, too touched from her friends' words to say much else.

The warning bell rang for the children to start going to their classes.

"Eh? We're going to be late! See you guys later! BYE," yelled Hihara as he ran to the distant Music Department building.


	6. Fickle and Fraud

**Chapter 6: Fickle and Fraud**

Len walked into his classroom scowling.

'Who was that exchange student I had to escort? Sensei said I'd meet him here... They had better hurry up... I don't have time to waste on them," thought Len.

Niriya sauntered into the room, a well-disguised smirk on his face.

"Ohayou everyone," said Niriya pleasantly, "I'll be your classmate for the remainder of the school year."

Almost instantly a buzz was brought upon the schoolroom.

From the girls came a, "He's so cute! I wonder if he's single."

From the guys was a, "Do you think he'll join the –insert sport name here- club?

From Len came slightly widened eyes, quickly replaced with a death glare.

Niriya walked over to Len and sat down.

"Kanazawa-sensei told me that you'd be escorting me to all my classes," said Niriya, smiling a princely smile that was enough to rival Azuma's.

Len nodded mutely, keeping his eyes carefully blank, very cold, and locked on Niriya's.

Len refused to back down.

"Well then, I hope we will be able to get along," smirked Niriya.

'You wish,' thought Len angrily, but instead of actually saying that, Len just sat silently, looking up only when the teacher indicated that they needed to take notes.

(Time skip)

After class, as everyone was packing up, a bunch of girls walked up to Nirya and asked, "Excuse me, Mantako-kun?"

"Mm?" he said, smiling up at them.

"Mantako-kun, are you dating anyone," asked a brown haired girl.

"Oh. Gomen, someone's got my heart tight in their grip," said Niriya, smiling apologetically.

This response caused Len to look up in shock.

"I'm actually in a relationship with Kahoko Hino in the Gen Ed Department," he said smugly.

Len clenched his hand behind his violin case.

'This guy is so inconsiderate of others! What does he think the girls are going to do to Kaho because he's spouting lies? Of course they're going to treat her with contempt," thought Len angrily.

Len looked at Niriya and said, "Why are you lying, Niriya? Kaho-san told me herself that she has nothing to do with you."

Niriya's eyes widened in shock.

"Oh, you talk to me now, eh?," he said sadistically, "I get it now, you're jealous that I got to her before you did."

"Excuse me? Could you repeat that," growled Len, taking a step towards Niriya angrily, his fist clenched at his side.

"Oh, now you're deaf as well? Such a tragic life you lead," mocked Niriya.

Suddenly, the hatred in Len's eyes calmed, and he turned away from Niriya, grabbed his violin case and his school books, and walked away.

"Walking away from a fight, now are we," teased Niriya.

"Iie," said Len, "I just recalled Kaho-san telling me earlier that she didn't want me wasting my time on the likes of you."

With that, he turned on his heel and walked out the door to his next class.


	7. Threats, Threats, and more Threats

**Chapter 7: Threats, Threats, and More Threats.**

Niriya looked after Len, thinking, 'She said that, did she? Well, I guess I deserve it, I mean, I did hurt her a little. But I WILL get her back… She'll come back to me… I know she will.'

The brunette that asked Niriya if he was single said, "Mantako-kun? Are you okay? You look saddened… It's not because of Tsukimori-kun, is it? If it is, don't worry about him, he's like that to everybody. Well, almost everyone."

She turned around and walked out the door.

"He's not like that to Kahoko Hino," she muttered bitterly, "Why does SHE get all the bishounen? She's not even that pretty. OR talented, she's plain and simple. Especially when it comes to grades."

"That may be that case, but her music is inspiring and captivating, and we all need to help her feel welcomed, because even though she may be simple, she has feelings as well," said Azuma, standing right outside the door, smiling his princely smile yet again.

"G-gomenasai Yunoki-sama," stammered the shocked brunette, and ran away.

Niriya walked out of the classroom and encountered Yunoki leaning against the wall outside the door.

"Yunoki-sempai," said Niriya calmly, "What brings YOU to this end of the building?"

The girls huddled behind Azuma gasped as they heard Niriya's outburst of rudeness to Azuma.

Many of them looked at each other and murmured about the nerve of him to act like that to their beloved Yunoki.

Azuma flashed his trademark princely smile and said, "I simply wished to greet the newcomer to our school. But it seems that you don't want my greetings."

At the last remark, Azuma put on a sad look.

At that, Azuma's fangirls began glaring at Niriya.

"How DARE that insolent sweat sock insult our Yunoki-sama," they exclaimed to one another.

'What's with this guy? He's completely different from yesterday," thought Niriya.

"Arigatoo for the greeting, Yunoki-sempai. With your permission, I'd like to leave before I'm late to my next class," said Niriya coldly.

"Of course Mantako-san. You have Music Theory as your next class, correct?" inquired Azuma.

"Hai Yunoki-sempai, what of it?" Niriya inquired suspiciously.

Yunoki's fangirls gasped yet AGAIN at Niriyu's rude reply.

"I shall escort you there, for this is a big school, and we cannot have our newest student being late to his next class, now can we?," said Azuma.

'This guy has those girls eating out of the palm of his hand! Don't tell me Kahoko has fallen for this ruse as well,' he thought.

"Arigatoo, Yunoki-sempai," said Niriya, "I accept your offer."

Azuma's was shocked that Niriya accepted, but this emotion did not show in his physical actions.

Instead, he thought, 'Good, my plan for Niriya's demise is going smoothly. At this rate, he'll transfer out in a matter of weeks. This will teach him not to mess with my Kahoko.'

Back in the General Ed Department, Kaho had just changed into her Phys. Ed. Clothes, was heading out to the soccer field, and was brooding about what happened that morning.

'Did I really do that? I mean, then I thought still had feelings for him, but now I'm not so sure. I mean, he'll always be my first crush, and nothing can change that, but I'm not so sure I actually loved him,' thought Kaho, 'I'm just so confused!'

While thinking of this, Kaho hadn't looked where she was going, and had bumped into someone.

"Gomen," she exclaimed immediately, but then she looked up yo see who she hit and saw Aoi, "Kaji-kun!"

"Hino-san! Are you alright," asked Aoi.

"Hai," exclaimed Kaho, her hand up rubbing the back of her head, smiling sheepishly, "I'm just tired..."

"Of course... Come, let's get you to class," said Aoi.

"Hai Kaji-kun," said Kaho.

After Phys Ed, Kaho had several bruises, as they had been playing baseball, and the ball had struck her several times.

"Etai," she cried, after changing out of her Phys Ed uniform into her regular uniform.

Kaho winced as she walked to the practice rooms again at lunch.

Kaho had bruises on her arms, legs, and stomach from baseballs that came her way, but she wasn't able to catch.

"Did you hurt yourself again Kaho-san?" inquired a voice behind her.

"Eh? Oh, Tsikimori-kun… Iie, I was just hit with a baseball a couple of times," said Kaho, blushing sheepishly.

'Eh?' thought Kaho, 'I coulda sworn that Tsukimori-kun sounded amused… Sugoi! He was amused! But then again, it was at my expense… WHATS WRONG WITH TSUKIMORI-KUN? Laughing at me... What an awful person... But then again, his laugh is pretty cute... But he was laughing AT ME! Augh!'

Len chucked when he saw Kaho's face, her index finger was against her chin, and she looked like she was thinking, but she suddenly took it down, and looked frustrated.

"Tsukimori-kun? Did you just laugh? Again?," exclaimed Kaho, "SUGOI! You laughed TWICE in one week! And I got to hear you!"

Len blushed slightly and said, "You must have been imagining it Kaho-san, are you feeling well?"

"Ehhhhhhhhhhh? Hai, hai Tsukimori-kun. Can we start the lesson now," inquired Kaho, feeling the need to change the subject.


	8. Falling & Fractured Feelings

**Chapter 8: Fingers and Falling**

Lunch had almost ended, and Len had one last thing to say to end his violin lesson with Kaho.

"Kaho-san, meet me at the school gates after school ends today," he said.

"Eh? Why," asked Kaho.

"Just meet me there," said Len.

"Hai Tsukimori-kun," said Kaho.

Kaho went through the rest of her classes in a daze.

She couldn't help wondering why Len had requested her to meet him.

Kaho breathed out a sigh of relief as the bell signifying the end of school rang.

She was heading over to the school gates to meet with Len, and she was wondering yet again why he wanted to meet her there.

'Tsukimori-kun was acting so strange today… I wonder if he's alright,' she thought.

She saw Len leaning against the wall, and ran up to him, her violin case banging against her legs in the process.

"Tsukimori-kun, why am I here?" Kaho inquired.

"You'll see," said Len mysteriously.

Len took Kaho's free hand and began heading towards his ride.

"Eh? Tsukimori-kun, where are we going," asked Kaho.

"Stop asking all these unnecessary questions Kaho-san, you'll find out when we get there," said Len impatiently, "Now please get in the car."

"H-hai Tsukimori-kun," she stammered and climbed into the car.

'Be still my beating heart,' thought Kaho, 'I've never felt this way around Tsukimori-kun before… What's happening to me?'

Before getting in the car, Len walked over to the driver and murmured the destination to him.

The driver gave a curt nod, and Len got in the car's backseat beside Kaho.

Len looked out the window and thought, 'What was I thinking? Kaho probably doesn't want to be here with me. I mean, could you blame her? I'm a complete and total moron to her most of the time… But I suppose it's too late to turn back now… I mean, I already forced her in the car…'

'It's too quiet… Should I try to start a conversation,' thought Kaho.

Len frowned slightly.

Kaho had noticed Len's frown and decided to mention it.

"Tsukimori-kun, what's wrong," she inquired.

At this remark, the driver smirked and thought, 'I wonder if she thinks that Tsukimori-san will actually respond. She'll be in for an uncomfortable car trip if she expects him to respond. Heck, I've only ever seen him talk to his parents' friends, and single word replies as well!'

Much to the driver's surprise though, Len actually did respond.

"Nandemonai, Kaho-san, I'm fine," he said.

Kaho frowned in confusion and said, "If you say so Tsukimori-kun."

"I say so," he said stonily.

They san in a somewhat uncomfortable silence that was even starting to affect the driver, when a "We're here," broke the soundlessness.

"Finally! I was beginning to wonder when we'd get here," exclaimed Kaho, "Where exactly are we Tsukimori-kun?"

"At the Shinagawa Suizokukan Aquarium," he replied, "My father is friends with the owner, and, like the time I had to play for another aquarium's sick dolphin, I have to play for a seal pup, because it isn't feeding, and they requested me to play."

The driver quietly slipped out of the car and began walking to the other side, to open the door for his young master and his companion.

'Holy crap… I think that's the longest string of words I've ever heard him say,' thought the driver in astonishment, barely able to contain his astonishment, 'Misa-sama will be pleased to know of this development... She'll be happy to know her plans are going accordingly.'

Kaho sat looking at Len with wide eyes.

'Tsukimori-kun- He- I- That was a lot of words.' Kaho's facial expression voiced clearly how shocked she was at Len's near monologue.

Len saw her reaction and chuckled to himself, thinking, 'Kahoko is surprised by the littlest things. She looks quite cute with that facial expression. Hn.'

'Tsukimori-kun should smile more,' said Kaho, seeing the chuckle playing on Len's lips, 'He looks even more handsome when he smiles.'

Without knowing, Kaho had actually mumbled this aloud.

And Len had just happened to hear her.

Len looked at her in surprise, his eyes slightly widened, a practically invisible blush tinting his pale cheeks pink.

Fortunately, the driver had just opened the door, and the rush of air that had met the two was rather warm, so Kaho simply attributed Len's barely pink cheeks to the temperature, unlike the driver, who had heard every word, and knew exactly what was going on with the poor musician's princess-pink cheeks.

"Excuse me Kaho-san," Len choked out, as coherently as possible, "What did you say?"

'She thinks I look handsome?'

Len nearly smiled again if not for the driver still staring at the pair of teenage children.

"Eh? Oh, nande Tsukimori-kun," said Kaho blushing.

"Mm," he replied, trying to get his emotions under control, "Shall we go in?"

He gestured to the door that the driver had been holding open very diligently. (Of course, it had nothing to do with him wanting to eavesdrop on their conversation, right? Right?)

"Hai, Tsukimori-kun," said Kaho eagerly.

The driver extended his hand, and helped Kaho out of the car. Len, shaking his head, motioned for the driver to hold his and Kaho's violin cases, as he stepped out of the car unaided.

Len nodded to the driver in thanks.

In reply, the driver bowed deeply, and said, "Have a good day, Len-bocchan."

The driver calmly walked back to his car door, climbed in, and dialed his bosses.

"Tsukimori-sama," he said, "Your son seems to have taken a liking to Hino Kahoko. Your plans are occurring without a hitch."

On the other end of the line, a clear, high pitched giggle was heard from Hamai Misa, along with Jun clearing his throat.

"Good, good," he said, nodding calmly.

"Good? What do you mean GOOD? This is fantastic! We might have grandchildren soon!" Misa was clearly heard babbling.

Both Jun and the driver winced.

"Grandchildren? Misa... Don't you think they're a bit young for that? After all, they ARE still in high school." Jun tried to talk practically to his wife.

"What's your point? I read an article on teenage pregnancies the other day, apparently the rate has doubled since you and I were teenagers." Misa grinned and clapped her hands.

Entering the water park, a couple cold chills ran down Len's back.

'What was that?' he wondered.

Len shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts, 'Oh never mind.'

Back at the mansion, Jun winced at what his wife had just said.

"Misa-chan, Hino Kahoko is still in Highschool. Imagine what her family will think." Jun tried to calm down his wife.

"I've done some research on that girl," Misa said, suddenly a bit somber, "I believe that the only members of her family that we have to worry about are her older brothers and sister."

"Brothers?" Jun inquired, "I thought she only had one brother?"

"Oh, yes, yes, of course, darling," Misa said, "It was a mere slip of the tongue, think nothing of it."

The driver, on the other end of the line, furrowed his brows confusedly.

"But, ma'am, you never make mistakes like that..."

"Tsk. Everyone makes mistakes every once in a while. Especially me," Misa laughed nervously.

"Uh-huh... Sure," Jun said.

"We will discuss this matter later," Misa commanded, "First, I have some errands I want you two to run."

...

Kaho and Len were walking towards the seal observation building, Len walking ahead, and Kaho following about 30 feet away, looking at all the exhibits as they passed, when someone said, "Kahoko? Is that you,".

"Eh? Who's there?" inquired Kaho nervously.

A figure stepped out of the shadows.

"Niriya," growled Len.

"Tsukimori," said Niriya, not taking his eyes off Kaho.

"Niriya-san, what are you doing here," asked Kaho cautiously.

"I came to see you," he said simply.

"Niriya, I don't want to see you anymore, I thought I made that clear," said Kaho as coldly as she could, as she turned her head to look at something other than him.

Kaho's heart wrenched as she said those words, because she knew that deep in her heart, she still loved Niriya, but she loved someone else now too…

Niriya walked up and cupped Kaho's cheek in his hand.

Len stiffened and began walking towards Niriya and Kaho.

"I love you, Kahoko. I always have, and I always will," murmured Niriya.

Kaho looked at Niriya angrily.

"Liar," she said.

Niriya stumbled and took a step back, his eyes wide in shock.

"You cheated on me, you lied to me, and now you expect me to believe you," exclaimed Kaho, "I loved you Niriya,(At this, Len stopped dead in his tracks) you had stolen my heart from the very beginning, but now, now someone has stolen my heart from you. Niriya, I trusted you with my heart, and you broke it. This is goodbye."

A single tear ran down Kaho's cheek, and she turned to walk away.

'Who took her heart? What does she mean,' thought Len in dismay, 'Was she talking about me? Wait… What am I thinking? I'm too much of an idiot for her to like me… I'm too cold to be with her… She doesn't deserve me, she deserves someone better.'

Suddenly, Niriya looked up, rage burning in his eyes.

He grabbed Kaho roughly by the hand, and pulled her up to him, so her eyes were looking directly into his, and they were pressed tightly against each other.

At this point, his hand was practically crushing Kaho's and she cried out, "Niriya! Let go! You're hurting me!"

Upon hearing this, Len broke into a run towards the struggling Kaho.

"Kahoko," he said fury blazing in his eyes, "I love you! Why don't you realize that? And now you tell me you want to leave me for some other guy! At least tell me who this guy is? I want to know who I lost the love of my life to. Why do you love HIM instead of me? Am I not good enough for you now?"

Niriya was shaking with suppressed rage at this point.

"I will not tell you who has stolen my heart. But if it will get you to go away, I'll tell you why I love him," murmured Kaho, "When I'm around him, my heart races. When he plays his instrument, really plays it. I mean, his music shows his compassion, it shows the love he feels. When he smiles, the whole world seems so much better. He has protected me. And I love him. But if it makes you feel any better Niriya, we can never be together. He is an extremely talented musician, and I would just hold him back."

Tears started to run down Kaho's face.

Len looked shocked and sad at the same time, and thought, 'That couldn't be me. She could never feel that way about me. She said that the guy she loved protects her… Maybe she loves Tsuchira...'

Len shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

Len began running towards Kaho again.

"Niriya, I love him with every fiber of my being, but we can never be together," said Kaho sadly, her hair shielding her eyes, "Now would you please leave?"

"Kahoko! Don't you understand? I love you," said Niriya angrily, "I will never stop fighting for you!"

Kaho used her free arm to wipe her eyes, looked straight at Niriyu, and in a clear voice said, "Niriya-kun, you lost that fight the moment you kissed another girl… Please leave."

Niriya looked as fierce as ever when he took Kaho's hand in his and said, "Fine, but if you won't play your violin for me, then you shall never play it again!"

Niriya took one of Kaho's fingers in his hand, and attempted to twist it all the way back, so as to break it.

Kaho fell to her knees, and screamed in pain as Len ran up, and shoved Niriya against a wall, hard enough to make him crumple onto the ground.

Len turned to Kaho, and gently wiped her cheeks with his thumbs and said, "Kahoko, are you alright?"

Kaho was too shocked and scared of what Niriya just did to realize that Len had called her by her given name.

Kaho immediately buried her face in his chest and cried.

Niriya staggered to his feet.

Len noticed Niriya's movement, so he rose to his feet, helping Kaho up.

Niriya had a crazed look in his eyes as he walked up to Len.

Len calmly went up to Niriya, meeting him halfway.

Suddenly, Niriya sucker punched Len.

Len staggered back a few steps, but regained his balance and advanced on Niriya once again.

"I won't fight you Niriya," said Len, "You've already lost Kahoko's trust, I will not make you lose anything else."

Niriya's eyes widened.

"Goodbye Niriya-san," said Len, "Enjoy the rest of your life."

Len turned around and began to walk back to Kaho.

Niriya ran and pushed Len to the ground.

Kaho ran up to Niriya with pleading eyes and said, "Niriya! Please stop! Can't you see you're hurting him?"

Niriya looked at her with unseeing eyes.

He drew Kaho close to him almost as if to embrace her once more, but his eyes widened, and he suddenly pushed her away from himself, hard.

Kaho stumbled back a few steps, and slipped on a rock.

Len had seen Niriya push Kaho, and ran towards them, in an attempt to get there before Kaho fell.

But he was too late.

She had managed to twist around to catch herself, but the force of impact was too much.

Kaho's hands hit the ground first, and she felt instant pain, and thought she heard a crack, as her head hit the ground, hard.

The last thing she saw was Len's worried face above her, and him saying, "Kaho, Kaho, stay awake. Stay awake! Kahoko! Stay with me Kahoko!"

And with those parting words, Kaho fell into a deep black void.


End file.
